CHAPTER - 9

MOTIVATE YOUR CHILDREN

Children develop attitude towards learning from the significant others in their lives. If parents or other adults nurture a childs self-confidence and curiosity, and provide resources that invite exploration, they instill the message that learning is useful and fun. Children, who observe adults being enthusiastic toward education and coping positively with setbacks, will likely follow their adult role models and pursue knowledge as well as persevere when faced with failure. This chapter offers educators and parents ideas on how to foster motivation in children.

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Motivation is the activation or energization of goaloriented behavior. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but, theoretically, it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or optimism. Applications Education Motivation is of particular interest to educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields. Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and how they behave towards subject matter. It can: 1. Direct behavior toward particular goals 2. Lead to increased effort and energy 3. Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities 4. Enhance cognitive processing 5. Determine what consequences are reinforcing 6. Lead to improved performance. Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

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Motivating Learning in Children

Children learn from everything they do. They are naturally curious; they want to explore and discover. If their explorations bring pleasure or success, they will want to learn more. During these early years, children form attitudes about learning that will last a lifetime. Children who receive the right sort of support inspiration and encouragement during these years will be creative, adventurous learners throughout their lives.

Sh. Shiv Bhattia

Advisor to Hon. Chief Minister of Haryana

Characteristics of Motivation in Children Children do many things simply because they want to do them. Selecting a toy or a shirt to wear is the result of intrinsic motivation. The child makes her own choice and achieves satisfaction from both the act of choosing and from the opportunity to play with the toy or wear the shirt. Children also engage in some activities because adults tell them to do, or in an effort to please another party. These activities are extrinsically motivated. When a child is extrinsically motivated, the reward comes from outside the child-It has to be provided by someone else, and has to be continually given for the child to remain motivated enough to continue the activity. It is more difficult for a child to sustain extrinsically motivated activity because of this reliance upon some outside force. A number of behavioral characteristics are indicators of high motivation. Here are some of the important factors and some ways to help your child develop these characteristics. Persistence is the ability to stay with a task for a reasonably long period of time. A highly motivated child will stay involved for a long period of time, whereas an unmotivated child will give up very easily when not instantly successful. Children learn persistence when they are successful at a challenging task. The art in building persistence is in offering a task that is just

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challenging enough, but not overwhelming. Choice of challenge is another characteristic of motivation. Children who experience success in meeting one challenge will become motivated, welcoming another. These motivated learners will choose an activity that is slightly difficult for them, but provides an appropriate challenge. When they successfully complete such a task, children gain a high level of satisfaction. The challenge for parents is helping their child to find an appropriate challenge while still allowing the choice to be the childs. The amount of dependency on adults is another indicator of motivation. Children with strong intrinsic motivation do not need an adult constantly watching and helping with activities. Children who have a lower level of motivation or are extrinsically motivated need constant attention from adults and cannot function independently. Parents can increase the likelihood of their childs building independent motivation by providing toys and activities that play to the childs natural creativity and curiosity. The last indicator of motivational level is emotion . Children who are clearly motivated will have a positive display of emotion. They are satisfied with their work and show more enjoyment in the activity. Children without appropriate motivation will appear quiet, sullen and bored. They will not take any apparent pleasure in their activity and will often complain. As a parent, you are probably the best judge of your childs moods.

10 Ways to Motivate Your Children

1. Nurture Your Childs Interests: To nurture your childs interests, provide opportunities for him or her to learn and explore that interest. For example, if your youngster loves dinosaurs, get fact and fiction books about dinosaurs and visit natural history museums. If your child loves music, get toy (or real) instruments and consider music lessons. If your child loves science, get science books and science kits and visit science

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museums. Kids who can explore their interests are more likely to keep their love of learning alive. 2. Expose Your Child to New Ideas and Areas: Sometimes a child lacks motivation because he or she hasnt yet been exposed to what might be a life passion. A child whose true passion is music but who has never had a chance to explore it will not be able to unlock that passion. Look for community programs, not just school programs. Dont overlook traditionally female activities, like dance and gymnastics, for boys. Keep an open mind; its your childs interests that are important. 3. Use Short-Term Goals and Rewards: Sometimes a child gets overwhelmed by a large task. Its not that the task is difficult, but the child may not be able to see the light a the end of the tunnel. Rather than begin the task, a child will give up before he or she even begins. Help your child see the task as a series of smaller tasks. Make each small task a goal and try setting a reward for that goal. 4. Help Your Child Learn to Manage Time: When they start school, gifted children usually have few problems keeping up with work. They learn quickly and easily. Children may never learn to manage their time in order to get work done. Teach your child how to create and use a time-management schedule. 5. Praise Your Childs Efforts: To help a child succeed, praise efforts at success and make that praise specific. For example, instead of saying Nice work, its better to say something like, You worked hard on your science project; you really earned that A. However, avoid the reverse: dont say things like, If you worked harder, you would do better. 6. Help Your Child Take Control: Children sometimes see achievement as something beyond their control. If they succeed, it is due to luck or some other external factor. This attitude makes them feel like effort is pointless. Praising their efforts can help, but these children also need to understand the role personal responsibility plays in success. The way you

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talk about your own life sends a message. Complaining about your boss or blaming your boss for your lack of success at work sends the wrong message. 7. Keep a Positive Attitude About School: Children need to see that their parents value education. Even if a childs problems in school are the schools or teachers fault, you need to be careful of what you say. Negative attitudes toward school in general will transfer to your child. If school is a problem, you can point out that even though problems can occur, education is still valuable and effort will eventually lead to success. Blaming the school will allow the child to avoid personal responsibility. 8. Help Your Child Make Connections Between Schoolwork and Their Interests: Sometimes children lack motivation because they dont see a connection between the work they are being asked to do and their goals and interests. A child who wants to be an astronaut should know that math and science is important in those jobs. However, children generally dont focus on anything but the present. Two weeks in the future is even hard for some of them to imagine. 9. Turn Homework Into Creative Games: Children love a challenge, so by turning otherwise dull homework into a challenging game, you can get your child to do it. Checking their work lets them see you care about it. Another creative approach to homework is to link it to an interest. For example, a dull math worksheet can be the decoding assignment of an astronauts space mission to Mars. Unless the work is done correctly, the mission will fail. Even the smallest mistake can create a problem that can cause the mission to fail. 10. Keep in Mind that Motivation is Not Always About School Achievement: We often equate motivation with school achievement. However, its important to note that some children are highly motivated to achieve goals, but those goals are unrelated to school. A gifted teen, for example, may be more interested in creating a volunteer community program for the elderly or for the underprivileged.